Objection 14 Shire of Wiluna 12 pages From: Wiluna CEO To: FedRedistribution - WA Cc: Subject: Electoral Redistribution- Wiluna Date: Friday, 26 March 2021 11:38:13 AM Attachments: 20210326 Letter Rick Wilson (Electoral Boundary).pdf Wiluna RDA Boundary Realignment 202012.pdf Shire of Wiluna Demographic Profile.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the Australian Federal Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. Good morning Sir/Madam, Please see attached correspondence related objection and comment on the changes to federal electoral boundaries between Durack and O’Connor. Should you require any additional information, please contact me on . Regards, Laura Dwyer Chief Executive Officer Shire of Wiluna PO Box 38, Wiluna WA 6646 Ph: (08) 9981 8000 Email: https://www.facebook.com/shireofwiluna/ Disclaimer by the Shire of Wiluna: This email is private and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please advise me by return email immediately. You are not permitted to use, copy, forward or disclose the contents or attachments of this email. The views expressed in this email are those of the author, and do not represent those of the Shire unless this is clearly indicated. You should scan this email and any attachments for viruses. The Shire of Wiluna accepts no liability for any direct or indirect damage or loss resulting from the use of any attachments to this email. 26 March 2021 Mr Rick Wilson MP Member for O’Connor, Western Australia PO Box 10415 KALGOORLIE WA 6430 Via email only: Dear Mr Wilson, RE: ELECTORAL BOUNDARY REALIGNMENT- WILUNA I am writing this letter to you in relation to comment on recent electoral boundary changes and would like to formally request that the local government are of Wiluna be moved from Durack to the seat of O’Connor. The Shire of Wiluna has recently made applications for development commission boundary changes from Mid-West to the Goldfields-Esperance region and the regional development Australia boundary from Mid-West Gascoyne to Goldfields-Esperance. Through pursuing these changes, Wiluna is pursuing full alignment in the interests of the community and industry. A key issue that Wiluna experiences is the disconnect through all levels of government and service provision. Disconnection means Wiluna becomes forgotten. When seeking support for issues the common comment is that Wiluna belongs to another region and therefore is not in “their patch”. Ranking 703 on the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) score, Wiluna is the fourth most disadvantaged local government in Western Australia. With a remote area rating of 5 Wiluna is classed as very remote. From these statistics alone distance is a major barrier and being 740km to Geraldton via gravel and bitumen, the 534kms to Kalgoorlie on the Goldfields Highway makes alignment to O’Connor more accessible with Kalgoorlie being our closest major regional centre. Major transport routes exist in and out of Wiluna through the Goldfields Highway between Wiluna and Meekatharra as well as the Wiluna North Road meeting the Great Northern Highway. Progressing such projects requires advocacy from members that are accessible. Our connections to the Northern Goldfields are strong through in which a group has formed in support of this. We are also members of the Goldfields Voluntary Regional Organisation of Councils (GVROC) since its inception in 2007 which covers the Goldfields-Esperance region. For further information attached is the business case provided to Regional Development Australia requesting boundary realignment under regional development federal boundaries for further information as well as a snapshot of the demographics of Wiluna. We hope that you consider this request and should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me directly via email or by phone . Yours sincerely, Laura Dwyer Chief Executive Officer Shire of Wiluna BOUNDARY REALIGNMENT REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUSTRALIA SHIRE OF WILUNA w: wiluna.wa.gov.au 70 Wotton Street, Wiluna WA 6646 | PO Box 38 Wiluna WA 6646 t: (08) 9981 8000 e: [email protected] December 2020 Contents Business Case: …. ............................................................................................................... 3 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... 3 Background ....................................................................................................................... 3 Service Provision ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Region Comparisons ......................................................................................................... 4 Challenges ........................................................................................................................ 5 Benefits ............................................................................................................................. 6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 7 Regional Development Australia Boundary Realignment Business Case Document December 2020 2 of 8 Business Case: …. Executive Summary The Shire of Wiluna (Shire) is seeking boundary realignment within Regional Development Australia to be included in the Goldfields-Esperance Region under the Federal boundaries. In seeking this realignment, the Shire anticipates this will provide greater opportunities for advocacy on community issues, funding support for projects and economic development within the Northern Goldfields sub-region. Background Located 940km north east of Perth, the townsite of Wiluna is the main residential centre of the Shire of Wiluna. With a population of 742, approximately 30% of residents identify as Indigenous1. With industries in mining, agriculture and tourism, the Shire has many opportunities for increased economic development. With major projects ready for progression at the Wiluna Airport Upgrades of $19M and Wiluna Caravan Park $3.1M, local economic benefits will flow onto tourism and mining industries. For the Shire to be included in the Goldfields-Esperance Region for State and Federal Boundaries, this presents the opportunity for better alignment of economic opportunities, community advocacy and service provision for Wiluna. In 1993 boundary realignment for the Shire of Wiluna occurred to enable the Ngaanyatjarraku Shire to represent the Western Desert communities. This saw the Shire of Wiluna split into two local governments, Ngaanyatjarraku representing the eastern portion and Wiluna retaining the western.2 Along with the separation of the Shire of Wiluna, the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993 was created to “…establish regional development commissions to coordinate and promote the economic development of regions of Western Australia, to provide for the establishment of regional development advisory committees, to establish a Regional Development Council, to continue existing regional development bodies as commissions under this Act, to repeal certain Acts and for related purposes.”3 Within the creation of the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993, nine Development Commissions were created to serve the regions under the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. The Shire of Wiluna was included in the Mid-West Region. Following on from the development of State boundaries and Development Commissions, in 2012 Regional Development Australia (RDA) was developed and the establishment of Committees to represent the regions. The intention of establishing these committees was to support regional development by engaging local leaders from all levels of government 1 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020. 2016 Census QuickStats, accessed 25 November 2020. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/LGA592 50 2 Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku 2020. Shire Information/Background, accessed 25 November 2020. https://www.ngaanyatjarraku.wa.gov.au/index.php/our-shire/shire-information 3 Government of Western Australia 2020. Regional Development Commissions Act 1993, accessed 25 November 2020. https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_815_homepage.html Regional Development Australia Boundary Realignment Business Case Document December 2020 3 of 8 business and community to represent the views and support economic development within their regions.4 RDA committees in Western Australia were established based on ABS local government 2011 boundary datasets5. When creating the boundaries Regional Development Australia combined the Mid-West and Gascoyne regions to create RDA Midwest Gascoyne. Similar to the Development Commissions, Wiluna was included in the boundary catchment of RDA Midwest Gascoyne (RDAMWG). In 2007 the Goldfields Voluntary Regional Organisation of Councils (GVROC) was established encompassing the 9 local governments in the Goldfields Esperance Region as well as Wiluna. The basis for establishing GVROC was for these 10 local governments to meet to share common issues and advocate on behalf of them, but to also drive common projects. Despite being in a different region, the Shire of Wiluna have maintained a strong working relationship with the local governments in the Goldfields Esperance region and worked collaboratively to deliver a number of initiatives